The UN Water Conference, which opened on Wednesday, is taking place as this vital natural resource is being depleted, polluted and mismanaged. The three-day event – co-hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tajikistan – falls at the halfway point for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the promise of ensuring all…
Access to NCD Medicines: Emergent Issues During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Key Structural Factors, highlights the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to NCD medicines, and the policies and strategies implemented by countries to both anticipate and mitigate the disruption that has hit medical supply chains. Pandemic shortages During the pandemic, people living with cancer, heart diseases, chronic…
“We are gravely concerned that extreme violence continues to spiral out of control in Haiti,” said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk. In the first two weeks of March alone, clashes among gangs left at least 208 dead, 164 injured, and 101 kidnapped. Mirroring those grave concerns, UN…
The crisis has left families in the flood-affected areas with no choice but to use potentially contaminated water. “Safe drinking water is not a privilege, it is a basic human right”, said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil. “Yet, every day, millions of girls and boys in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable…
Amid the current global food crisis, with many families struggling to put food on the table, governments are increasingly seeing the value of these initiatives, according to the State of School-Feeding Worldwide report. Critical safety net School meals are a critical safety net for vulnerable children and households at a time when some 345 million…
The annual ceremony to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is held to remember the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in apartheid South Africa. This year’s commemoration also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi addresses the…
UN chief António Guterres convened an Advisory Panel of top UN agency officials which met for the first time to inject more “political, technical and financial clout to ensure that Early Warnings for All becomes a reality for everyone, everywhere”, said WMO in a press release. Tuesday’s panel included development banks, humanitarian organisations, civil society…
Launched ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, the new edition of the UN World Water Development Report focuses on twin themes of partnerships and cooperation. Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report highlights collaborative ways actors can work together to overcome common challenges. “There is an urgent need to…
For many runners, taking part in a marathon is a challenge of a lifetime or, if they’re particularly keen, an annual test of endurance. Mina Guli is built differently: over the past year, she has been running four marathons of 26.2 miles each, every week, across the world, racking up a total of 200 long-distance…
Called “Peace begins with me” the poem pays tribute to the strength and resilience of communities affected by conflict as well as those who help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods. It is a reminder of our responsibility to promote peace in our communities, countries and across the world – a conviction that has driven more…
